Friday Night Leftovers

Is it Friday already!? OMG this week went so fast for me. Anyway, here are my leftovers

• I ordered 20 Cleveland Browns tickets today for Nov 7th. I'm surprising Josh this year for his birthday with Tailgating and Browns game with his friends and family instead of just a bonfire. He's been working so hard this year, he really deserves it! Every year he says how great that would be, so this year, he's getting it! BTW, I have no idea how to tell him about it. Any good ideas would be appreciated.
• My house is a mess. No, seriously, a disaster area. There are toys all over the house, the dishwasher needs done and I have two loads of laundry on the couch waiting to be folded. It's been so flipping hot today, though that I can't even begin to do any of it, especially after a day of chasing after 3 little ones.
• Vacation countdown...3 weeks! :D I.CAN'T.WAIT. (and neither can the kids, btw)
• You know what I hate? HYPOCRISY. I hate it like nothing else in this world. Like when someone creates drama out of nothing and then they bitch about other people starting drama just to make themselves look better. I just hate that. Or like when someone tries to make up with them and they say they aren't interested, then they go around saying that they wish that person would make up with them. Or like when someone says that they are a good Christian and they go around saying that anyone who doesnt have a college education is useless or that stay at home moms (and dads) are setting a bad example for their kids because they are lazy and unmotivated. Not very "Christian" is it. Just sayin.
• I bought a winter coat today. It's 98 degrees outside. But it was on sale and I haven't had a winter coat in 2 years that actually fit, plus I had a gift card from my birthday I still haven't used. Totally justified. (also I NEVER buy clothes for myself...hence the 2 years thing).

friday night leftovers

The leftover action is back and I'm getting back into it too.

• Josh hit the old family photo motherload a couple nights ago at his grandma's house. He brought back some of the most beautiful pictures and a year of love letters between his grandparents that brought me to tears more than once. I always knew that their love was real, but wow. And the more I read, the more I see that she and I were a LOT alike. I have an entire letter here that she wrote in 1947, that I EASILY could have written last week (except for all the "shall's"). Anyway, I'm planning on starting my "way-back wednesdays" back up, if people still like them.
• I've been GLUED to ancestry.com for the last week (I got 2 weeks free). I'm trying to get as much out of it as I can because I really don't want to pay for it (yes, I am THAT cheap lol). I've done REALLY well, too and I actually think I'll be "done" (if that's ever possible) by next week.
• My bestie of 20 YEARS (omg, I'm old! I can't believe I've had a friend since I was 6!) came to town and I was soo happy she agreed to meet us at the park on Tuesday. I had already promised the girls we'd go. So it was really nice to catch up with her. If you'd like to follow along with her she just started blogging about her life, hubby, family, IF issues, etc. at www.lifeonwindyhill.blogspot.com
• It's been so un-Godly H.O.T.T. here, that I can't even freaking stand it. Summer is generally not my favorite time of year (it's all the sweating and the feeling dirty all.the.time.), but DEFINITELY not when it's 98 degrees every flippin day. And when we don't have central air, it's downright unbearable. The rain today was supposed to cool it off, but no such luck. "Cooled off" is 84 and HUMID...blargh. Call me when it's fall. THAT is when I'll be back to my happy self again.

Yes, I know it's Wednesday

I know it's not Friday, but I feel like I need to post since I've slacked for the last couple weeks and I don't have enough for a full post. So here are my leftovers.

• Jackson has started getting a little...ok, a LOT possessive of me. I'm obviously happy that all my kids love me so much, but the boy is starting some UFC-type battles over who gets to sit on my lap/hold my hand/lay their head on my leg. It's cute and scary all at the same time. The girls are used to getting my full affection, and they aren't too keen on the competition. LOL
• Ummm what the hell is up with this gulf coast oil spill crap? I mean, come on people! They should have had this stuff cleaned up right after it happened. There were about 50 different GREAT ideas, but they were "too expensive". Well, I bet those options are looking pretty good right about now, aren't they. And where the heck is Obama during this. He wants to stick his nose in every business in the country, but the ONE time it's needed, he wimps out.
• The girls were cracking us up tonight digging for and playing with worms in their dresses. They just HAD to wear these dresses (and of course bows). But they're out there for 2 minutes and they're covered in dirt and playing with the worms like a couple of boys. It was great. It's just so...them. They can be very girly girls and they can be the biggest tom-boys at the same time. We heart them.
• I watched a couple episodes of Bridezillas the other day, and the same thought kept going through my head...what kind of man would marry these women!? Planning my wedding was the easiest thing I've ever done. Josh and I never had a single fight over anything. And if I had treated him or my family or friends the way these women, do I would EXPECT for the guy to leave me. I always wonder how many of these marriages make it through the first two years.
• I received the official e-mail from my step-dad today. They don't want anything to do with us anymore. I told him that all I need is an apology from my mom about the way she treated me my whole life (and on Mothers Day) and he said "you had a great childhood, I don't know what you're talking about". Ooooookay then. There's nothing I can say back to that steaming pile of crap, so I said "I'm done" and he said "well have a nice life then". Of course that was after he threatened to beat the shit out of Josh. ya. really nice. IDK. I'm emotionally drained from the situation and I don't know what to say anymore. I know the truth and they can continue to believe what they want to believe. I can't change them. I'm "giving it to God" as my friend would say.
• Josh is contemplating selling his truck and his car (hot rods, not everyday vehicles) and putting all the money towards something more "practical" (something with a back seat for the kids so we don't have to drive seperately to car shows and stuff). He had some issues with his truck on Sunday on the way out the driveway to a car show. He finally (after an hour...or more) got it running and made it to the gas station, but ran into some...uh problems when he tried to start it up again. He ended up having to have the thing towed back home by some of his friends. We'll see what, if anything, ends up happening with that.

leftovers and wordless wednesday...all on the wrong days

This is really just a hodge podge because I haven't really had anything interesting to say in the last week that would constitute an entire blog.

• How cute is this picture of Jack? Seriously, I love it. It's definitely worthy of WW status.

• Speaking of pictures, yes, this is in fact a strawberry shaped like...uhh...well, a rack...I'm sorry, I know it's juvenile, but it has been cracking Josh and I up for two days. that's just the immature sense of humor we have, and I LOVE it.

• We had to reschedule our family pictures because they were supposed to be Sunday, but because of the storms, obviously that didn't happen. We are actually doing them at my moms house with all 10 of us for her 50th birthday gift. She's been talking about having family pics taken for years and just hasn't done it, so we thought we'd do it for her. lol. Of course I have no room to talk since I wanted to get them since last year for my birthday, but Josh didn't want to spend $700 on pics. (tangent: this I THINK, is what my EPSIL (evil psychotic sister in law) was referring to one time when she said that I "forced Josh to buy $700 patio furniture"????, when in actuality that furniture was cheapo stuff that Josh wanted and got from big lots. I guess since she wins every argument in her house, she thinks I do too. It must be unusual for someone like her to understand a couple making decisions TOGETHER. lol. ok tangent over.)


• Sophia has been calling Maria "Somia". I think this is what's going on in her head...if Pia=Sophia then Mia should=Somia. Pretty good logic if you think about it.
• It's officially 100 days until our vacation!! And if ANYONE deserves a vacation, it's us! We've spent the last 5 1/2 years having babies, taking care of them, paying our bills, working hard & doing the right thing. So now that we are practically debt free (obviously we still owe on our mortgage and car) we can finally go on a vacation the RIGHT way. Without having other bills we can't pay or paying for it with a credit card. We are so excited and now our kids will appreciate it so much more. Hopefully they will grow up to be responsible like us and not grow up feeling entitled to things like that.
• Josh got all of our plants for our garden yesterday. Last year was just a trial run to see what we liked/used so this year will HOPEFULLY be totally used. We got 24 tomato plants, 2 peppers, 1 cucumber & 2 strawberry. Also, I got the seeds the other day for corn, pickling cucumbers, pie pumpkins & carrots. I'm hoping to get a little more spaghetti sauce out of this years. We just ran out a couple weeks ago and I had to get store-bought. Once you've had homemade, the store stuff is like eating plain tomato sauce out of a can. LOL. For some reason, my green beans from last year all have a funny...like pasty? kind of taste, so I don't think we'll do them this year, however I did get some seeds. It'll really depend on if we have the space.
• When we went to pick up the plants last night, we stopped at the place where we used to go get ice cream after Maria was born. We'd walk up there every night, and it was just really nice. However, they closed it down a while back, so Josh was all excited when he came home from work last night and said "they opened it up again, we have to go tonight!". It was so cute. The problem now becomes that we sold the double stroller and IDK about having the kids walk the mile on a rural road with no sidewalks. But it would be stupid to drive a mile, ya know?
  

Friday Night Leftovers (photo ed.)

This edition of Friday Night Leftovers will be a photographic one. Enjoy.

And for more leftover fun, visit Danifred

• The other day I went in to get Jack out of his crib and found this... they said they wanted to keep him company and since they couldn't get him out, the only logical thing to do....they got in, of course.

• Last week I redid the photos (and got new frames) in the hallway (see below). It hadn't been done since Maria came home from the NICU(!!!) yep, I apparently AM that lazy. So now I've moved on to another wall that will have all black and whites of our families (old pics of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents). I've been having a lot of fun going through them and picking out my favorites. So, hopefully by next week I'll have a pic of that. I'm halfway done and I have all the frames already.

• Last night when Josh and I were getting into bed, I walked over to his side to fix his blankets and pillows and I found this... apparently our kids support "free love". LOL

• Because I'm slightly neurotic, I made Maria's birthday gift bags already. Yes, I am well aware of the fact that her birthday isn't for another two weeks. But I had the stuff and I just couldn't help myself. It was staring at me. I would like to point out that I, unlike some of the other mothers in the class, have not included "fun dip" in these Birthday bags. I am 100% sure that "fun dip" was created by someone without children. What other explanation can you give for a candy that is essentially a bag full of flavored sugar that you eat with a sucker. Why in the world would the parents of 4 and 5 yr olds send these things home? It boggles the mind. I think those mothers hate the rest of us. I was forced to throw them away (and strategically hide them under paper plates in the trash can) when they weren't looking. It was pathetic. But it was survival. Of course if I knew what some people considered acceptable nutrition for their children, I would probably fall off this chair, so maybe I should consider "fun dip" par for the course. Anyway, included in these (PINK, of course!!) bags are smarties, skittles, glow in the dark bracelets and bouncy balls. Maria helped me load them up and she handed them to me so I could tie them with the twist-tie.

Friday Night Leftovers (2-5-10)

OK, I've tried it a million times and can't get the icon to copy over here so visit Danifred for more leftover fun.

This will be my first time participating in Danifreds Friday Night leftovers. So here's whats been going around in my head this week.

• I've been a little cranky lately with everyone who doesn't live in this house. I really don't know why, it's just one of those moods where everyone is irritating me. I feel like people need to grow up and lighten up all at the same time. Maybe that's an oxymoron, but I really don't care. lol
• Apparently we are supposed to get hit really hard tonight with some snow. The kids are super excited about the possibility of some "sliding" (sledding) and I am just happy to hibernate, as usual.
• We went and had our taxes done last night. So now we're looking at where to go on our FIRST VACATION EVER!!!! We haven't been on a vacation since our honeymoon (5 yrs ago), so we are pumped about that.
• I got both of the girls signed up for preschool for next year. I didn't really talk about it on here, but Maria's teachers are concerned about her (developmentally) because she's not recognizing most of her letters and she is still struggling with her name (she usually writes it backwards and it's not entirely clear what she is writing), she doesn't use scissors correctly and a couple other things that to me are insignificant (I mean, come on...how often do you have a need for "galloping" in the real world?). I had a few really rough days last month just trying to accept that things are never going to be easy for her. She's struggled since the second she was born and she's still struggling almost 5 yrs later. I definitely let my guilt get the better of me. But we ended up just deciding to keep her in preschool another year. OBVIOUSLY she's not going to stand out (size-wise) as being older than the other kids. lol. AFA Sophia goes, she CAN.NOT.WAIT. to go to preschool. And I'm sure she will excel. She already knows pretty much everything Maria knows and can do everything she does. Things have always come easy to her and I'm grateful for that. It's hard enough watching one child struggle her whole life.
• I had a day all to myself yesterday. IT.WAS.AWESOME. I cleaned and did laundry and watched some TV....all UNINTERRUPTED! :D And it was a nice little reunion that evening.
• We are trying to move forward with my family. We fought. Everyone said things that were hurtful, and more than likely no one is going to apologize. We just need to move on and try to get past our hurt feelings. Things are still super awkward, but at least we are trying. Some families (or family members) wouldn't do that much. So I guess we should consider ourselves lucky.
• Oh and for those who were concerned about the situation with the SIL, I got some great advice from a great friend (and from an awesome husband) and I've decided to just ignore her. I can't control her, so I shouldn't waste my time being concerned about her actions and her words. I had commented over there and then Josh was like "why are you giving her your time? she is a worthless piece of shit." And he was so right. So I haven't checked her blog since and I don't plan on ever checking it again. Here's hoping she will do the same. :D